Frustration at missed and delayed bin collections

Westmorland and Furness Council said it had several issues with bin collections in the summer

An extra £500,000 is being ploughed into addressing cancelled and delayed bin collections across a district.

Westmorland and Furness Council said it had faced "operational challenges" in the summer and residents were "understandably" frustrated.

It blamed staff sickness, unfilled vacancies and bin wagon breakdowns for the problems.

A report prepared ahead of the locality board meeting on 9 October, said communication with customers had not been "effective".

The document added: "We are working on our website, social media and other reporting channels to update customers on delays or disruption to service."

Council chiefs have agreed the additional funding for waste services for the remainder of the current financial year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The report said the funding had been used so far for additional collection rounds and recruiting new staff.

Five-year plan

It added that the council had also received concerns about increased littering and fly-tipping in the Furness area and that keeping public spaces clean was a "challenge".

The council will use some of the money to tackle these problems.

Another frustration felt by residents was the difference in waste and recycling services across Eden, South Lakeland and Furness, including frequency of collections.

Also, in Furness residents pay a charge for garden waste collection while it is free for residents in South Lakeland and Eden, the report said.

This is due to the legacy of district councils, which were merged into the Westmorland and Furness authority last year.

The new authority said it would take up to five years to bring services in line and help it meet its target of being net zero by 2037.